Colonialism in the Margins: Cultural Encounters in New Sweden and Lapland, part of the Atlantic World series, by Gunlog Maria Fur.
The premise is that comparing Swedish views of the Saami (Lapps) and Lenape (Delaware Indians) should reveal something. The author doesn't agree with the prevailing Swedish view that Sweden was never a European colonial power merely because the New Sweden colony in Delaware was quickly overrun and conquered by the Dutch, nor does the author believe the traditional Swedish view that they were both gentle and firm colonizers who treated the Lenape well. The idea Sweden didn't conquer and colonize but only "integrated" the Saami only works if you a priori accept Swedish claims to Saami land.
After a bit too much philosophy on what culture, God etc. really mean, the author starts in telling the tale of Swedish imperialism in Europe and America, how war loot was reinvested in what was a large country with a small, poor agrarian population, in order to, of course, start more wars. War became an end in itself.
Here is a sample paragraph of no particular relevance and not in any way representative of the entire book, or at least as far as I've gotten in it now:
Swedish nobility and scientists followed the continental custom of collecting exotic objects from various parts of the globe (sometimes as part of war booty) as well as from within the country's borders. During the second half of the seventeenth century, the greatest collector of all was Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, who as part of his activities encouraged the study of Lapland's nature and culture. His call for collections of a variety of descriptions and objects concerning the
Laplanders (Saamis), in which he explicity linked Saamis and Indians, led to the first monumental work on Saami culture, Johannes Schefferus'
Lapponia. This work, in part aimed at refuting continental propaganda claiming that the Swedish army employed Saamis to use witchcraft against their enemies, was first published in Latin in 1673. It was primarily aimed at an international audience and was quickly translated into English, German, French, and Dutch--but not into Swedish until nearly three centuries later! Schefferus, born in Strasbourg and from 1648 professor of rhetoric at Uppsala University, based his account on narratives and descriptive contributions from a number of pastors with experiences from the Lappmarks. Another collector of note was Count Carl Gustaf Wrangel who at his castle
Skokloster displayed objects from around the world, with North American Indian artifacts among the most exotic treasures. Such displays served to enhance the collector's own status, and in the case of Wrangel, were an important part of his strenuous effort as recently knighted to earn a position among the established aristocracy. Wrangel may also exemplify the highly romanticized view of American Indians which had already begun to take shape in higher circles in Sweden when he participated in courtly costume parties where the aristocratic guests dressed up as Indians. 11
11 In English as
The History of Lapland, wherein Are shewed the Original Manners, Habits, Marriages, Conjurations, &c, of that People (Oxford, 1674); Arne Losman, "Skokloster--Europe and the World in a Swedish Castle," in
The Age of New Sweden, pp. 85-102; Wilhelm Ostberg, ed.,
Med varlden i kappsacken. Samlingarnas vag till Etnografiska museet (Boras: Etnografiska museet, 2002), 16-21
PS The 1673 Latin edition of Lapponia is here:
http://www.archive.org/details/4SC1695NOR
